James May drives the new BMW M5

His verdict on the newest M-car? "It's a bit like Ronald McDonald"

If we’re going to talk about BMW’s M cars, we need to acknowledge that
the one that’s talked about most is the M3. Its M3 is the sort of car that deluded owners imagine they
can somehow improve with aftermarket bits, so the world is full of classic
M3-a-likes crafted out of lowly 318s with added badges but the damnation of the
feeble original single exhaust pipe. I’ve decided I’m more of an M5 kind of
bloke.

The M5 is a quiet pint. For a start, the 5-Series
has always been a proper, car-shaped car, with a decent boot at the back and
the engine in the front. It’s not so big that it’ll end its days as an
executive minicab driven by a man in a bad jacket, like the 7-Series, but it’s
big enough to allow you and your passengers to lounge around a bit. The 5-Series
is the perfect size for a car, and I like a saloon.